本末倒置
běn mò dào zhì
Pinyin

Definition

本末倒置
 - 
běn mò dào zhì
  1. lit. to invert root and branch (idiom); fig. confusing cause and effect
  2. to stress the incidental over the fundamental
  3. to put the cart before the horse

Character Decomposition

Related Words (20)

位置
wèi zhi
  1. 1 position
  2. 2 place
  3. 3 seat
  4. 4 CL:個|个[gè]
倒
dǎo
  1. 1 to fall
  2. 2 to collapse
  3. 3 to lie horizontally
  4. 4 to overthrow
  5. 5 to fail
  6. 6 to go bankrupt
  7. 7 to change (trains or buses)
  8. 8 to move around
  9. 9 to resell at a profit
基本
jī běn
  1. 1 basic
  2. 2 fundamental
  3. 3 main
  4. 4 elementary
日本
Rì běn
  1. 1 Japan
末日
Mò rì
  1. 1 Judgment Day (in Christian eschatology)
本
běn
  1. 1 root
  2. 2 stem
  3. 3 origin
  4. 4 source
  5. 5 this
  6. 6 the current
  7. 7 original
  8. 8 inherent
  9. 9 originally
  10. 10 classifier for books, periodicals, files etc
本人
běn rén
  1. 1 the person himself
  2. 2 I (humble form used in speeches)
  3. 3 oneself
  4. 4 myself
  5. 5 in person
  6. 6 personal
本来
běn lái
  1. 1 original
  2. 2 originally
  3. 3 at first
  4. 4 it goes without saying
  5. 5 of course
本色
běn sè
  1. 1 inherent qualities
  2. 2 natural qualities
  3. 3 distinctive character
  4. 4 true qualities
根本
gēn běn
  1. 1 fundamental
  2. 2 basic
  3. 3 root
  4. 4 simply
  5. 5 absolutely (not)
  6. 6 (not) at all
  7. 7 CL:個|个[gè]
版本
bǎn běn
  1. 1 version
  2. 2 edition
  3. 3 release
赵本山
Zhào Běn shān
  1. 1 Zhao Benshan (1958-), universally known PRC TV comedian
周末
zhōu mò
  1. 1 weekend
一边倒
yī biān dǎo
  1. 1 to have the advantage overwhelmingly on one side
  2. 2 to support unconditionally
布置
bù zhì
  1. 1 to put in order
  2. 2 to arrange
  3. 3 to decorate
  4. 4 to fix up
  5. 5 to deploy
倒下
dǎo xià
  1. 1 to collapse
  2. 2 to topple over
倒地
dǎo dì
  1. 1 to fall to the ground
倒影
dào yǐng
  1. 1 inverted image
  2. 2 reversed image (e.g. upside down)
倒数
dào shǔ
  1. 1 to count backwards (from 10 down to 0)
  2. 2 to count down
  3. 3 from the bottom (lines on a page)
  4. 4 from the back (rows of seats)
倒流
dào liú
  1. 1 to flow backwards
  2. 2 reverse flow

Idioms (20)

一本万利
yī běn wàn lì
  1. 1 small capital, huge profit (idiom); to put in a little and get a lot out
三句话不离本行
sān jù huà bù lí běn háng
  1. 1 to talk shop all the time (idiom)
倒悬之危
dào xuán zhī wēi
  1. 1 lit. the crisis of being hanged upside down (idiom); fig. extremely critical situation
  2. 2 dire straits
倒悬之急
dào xuán zhī jí
  1. 1 lit. the crisis of being hanged upside down (idiom); fig. extremely critical situation
  2. 2 dire straits
倒悬之苦
dào xuán zhī kǔ
  1. 1 lit. the pain of being hanged upside down (idiom); fig. extremely critical situation
  2. 2 dire straits
倒打一耙
dào dǎ yī pá
  1. 1 lit. to strike with a muckrake (idiom), cf Pigsy 豬八戒|猪八戒 in Journey to the West 西遊記|西游记; fig. to counterattack
  2. 2 to make bogus accusations (against one's victim)
倒行逆施
dào xíng nì shī
  1. 1 to go against the tide (idiom); to do things all wrong
  2. 2 to try to turn back history
  3. 3 a perverse way of doing things
兵败如山倒
bīng bài rú shān dǎo
  1. 1 troops in defeat like a landslide (idiom); a beaten army in total collapse
勤俭为服务之本
qín jiǎn wéi fú wù zhī běn
  1. 1 hardwork and thriftiness are the foundations of service (idiom)
报本反始
bào běn fǎn shǐ
  1. 1 ensure that you pay debts of gratitude (idiom)
好心倒做了驴肝肺
hǎo xīn dào zuò le lu:2 gān fēi
  1. 1 lit. to mistake good intentions for a donkey's liver and lungs (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. to mistake good intentions for ill intent
姑置勿论
gū zhì wù lùn
  1. 1 to put something aside for the time being (idiom)
家家有本难念的经
jiā jiā yǒu běn nán niàn de jīng
  1. 1 Every family goes through its problems. (idiom)
强弩之末
qiáng nǔ zhī mò
  1. 1 lit. an arrow at the end of its flight (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. spent force
慈悲为本
cí bēi wéi běn
  1. 1 mercy as the guiding principle (idiom); the Buddhist teaching that nothing is valid except compassion
投机倒把
tóu jī dǎo bǎ
  1. 1 speculation and profiteering (idiom); buying and selling on speculation
舍本逐末
shě běn zhú mò
  1. 1 to neglect the root and pursue the tip (idiom)
  2. 2 to neglect fundamentals and concentrate on details
排山倒海
pái shān dǎo hǎi
  1. 1 lit. to topple the mountains and overturn the seas (idiom); earth-shattering
  2. 2 fig. gigantic
  3. 3 of spectacular significance
推心置腹
tuī xīn zhì fù
  1. 1 to give one's bare heart into sb else's keeping (idiom); sb has one's absolute confidence
  2. 2 to trust completely
  3. 3 to confide in sb with entire sincerity
措置裕如
cuò zhì yù rú
  1. 1 to handle easily (idiom); effortless

Sample Sentences

你们也体谅体谅老师。老师们的主要任务是教授知识，培养大家的学术素养和实际技能。一心只想着出去赚钱，不是本末倒置嘛，教授能不寒心吗？
nǐmen yě tǐliàng tǐliang lǎoshī 。lǎoshīmen de zhǔyào rènwu shì jiāoshòu zhīshi ，péiyǎng dàjiā de xuéshù sùyǎng hé shíjì jìnéng 。yīxīn zhǐ xiǎng zhe chūqù zhuànqián ，bùshì běnmòdàozhì ma ，jiàoshòu néng bù hánxīn ma ？
You also need to cut the teachers some slack. The teachers' primary job is to impart knowledge and foster academic achievement and technical mastery. Focusing solely on thinking about how to make money, isn't that just putting the cart before the horse? Do you think the professors aren't hurt by this?
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